David looks into my eyes, and I know that he is
telling the truth when he says, “Violet, you’re not the only one
that Saul saved.” Immediately my mind returns me to that first
night on Earth. Saul and Foster dragging David’s limp body to
safety. “I was sun-sick and in and out of consciousness, but I
heard them talking. Foster said that I’d get us killed. He pleaded
with Saul to leave me behind. Saul said no. He wouldn’t even hear
of it.”
I look up at Foster and I know that David sees
the anger in my eyes because he says, “Violet, you can’t blame him
for putting his own life before a stranger’s.” I know that he’s
right. Foster was only trying to survive. My anger is misplaced.
The person that I am truly angry with is myself. I had seen Foster
on the transport. I had wanted him on my team. In the end it was
Saul, the person that I was afraid of, who saved both of our lives.
I’m beginning to think that I’m not a very good judge of
character.
I shake my head, ashamed of myself. “Come on,
David, let’s catch up to them.”
The walk seems endless, especially because of
our impeded progress, but I am resolute. I will not leave Saul. I
may be trapped on this planet until the day I die, but I will not
leave Saul. David and I walk hand-in-hand. I know that he feels the
same way.
Our progress has been very slow, but we must
have underestimated our proximity; as daybreak arrives, we see
Amara in the distance. Elated, we take a few moments to celebrate.
Energy is high and we want to run or at least jog the rest of the
way, but Saul’s condition is ever-worsening. He can hardly walk,
much less run. Finally, around midmorning, we stand at the border
of Amara. It’s just as I dreamed it. Tall trees bloom up and
outward, spreading branches like open arms. Vines are hanging,
thick greenery abounds. Flowers bloom in colors that I’ve never
seen. We enter slowly, quietly, almost reverently. The vegetation
is easier to pass through than we anticipated. Amara seems to
invite us in. We progress further into the jungle. Soon, we cannot
see the desert on the other side of the curtain of green. We reach
a clearing and we decide to stop to eat and drink for a while.
Truly, we just want to allow Saul a moment to rest without
embarrassment. His sickness continues to progress. The blackness
that began in his bite now reaches his shoulder.
I approach Saul to help him into a seated
position; I can see how weak he is, and I don’t want him to fall. I
put my hand under his good arm, and suddenly he jerks away, using
his elbow to shove me to the ground. “Get off of me!”
I can’t understand why he is so upset; we have
helped him walk all night long. Why is he acting this way now?
Still on my back, I use my elbows to scoot away from him. “Saul,
I’m sorry, I was only trying to help you!”
David and Foster stand watching, too shocked to
move.
“
Help
me? You were trying to
help
me?
You can’t even help yourself! Or am I forgetting something?
No, that’s right! I pulled Alexander off of you! I did what you
couldn’t!”
David jumps forward to help me to my feet, but
Foster remains frozen in disbelief.
“Oh, now David’s going to be your savior? I seem
to remember dragging his unconscious body through the desert! Which
reminds me! Where was your little boyfriend when Alexander dragged
you from your bed? Where was
he
when Alexander tore the
clothes from your body? Nowhere!”
Saul’s face has purpled with his rage. His eyes
remain yellow from the infection of his bite. He is screaming so
that spit flies from his mouth and a white foam has begun to form
around the edges of his lips. As he screams, a stream of blood
begins to flow from his left nostril.
Now, he turns on Foster and pulls his knife from
his pocket. David and I draw ours, too, but we hesitate. Saul does
not move toward Foster and there are two body lengths between them.
Saul continues to scream, “And
you!
Don’t think I didn’t
notice you looking at me! Don’t think I didn’t see you eyeing my
pack, just waiting for me to die so you could take it! I know you
wanted to leave me for dead!”
Foster shakes his head vehemently. “No, Saul,
no!
It’s not true, I wouldn’t leave you!”
“Oh really?” Saul shakes with anger. “I find
that hard to believe considering the fact that you tried to
convince me to leave
him!”
Saul points a finger at
David.
Foster continues to shake his head. “No, Saul.
That was different! I didn’t even know him. I just wanted to be
sure that both of us survived.” He turns to David and says, “I’m
sorry, David.”
David shakes his head. He understands.
In the moment that it takes for Foster to turn
to face David and me, Saul lunges at him with the knife. Before any
of us can react, a wooden arrow flies from the tree branches above
us and strikes Saul, stopping him mid-leap. We all look down. The
arrow struck Saul in the eye. He lies dead at our feet.
Foster falls to his knees and puts his head in
his hands. I rush forward toward Saul. I don’t know what I think
I’ll accomplish; he is obviously dead. Suddenly, a heavily accented
voice calls out, “Don’t touch him!”
A
very
tall and
very
muscular man
drops down from the tree branches. A moment later, a woman joins
him. They both have dark skin and wear clothes made of brightly
colored fabrics. I am surprised when I see that it is the woman who
holds the bow. Her hair is very long and wildly curly. She steps
forward. “His blood is poison.”
Foster has regained his composure, though he
still kneels on the ground. He asks, “Why did you do it? He
wouldn’t have hurt me. We could have stopped him without killing
him.”
She shakes her head sadly. “We have seen those
bites before, on those who come from the desert. We have found no
plant that can cure the sickness. He would have killed you all
before his madness was spent, and his death would have been slow
and painful. He would have known that he had murdered his friends,
but he would not understand why… In the end, he would have welcomed
death, but not because of acceptance. Because of shame.” She bows
her head and her voice gets quiet. “As I said, we have seen it
before.”
Now the woman raises her head and looks at us
authoritatively. “I am Ramla. You must come with us now. You cannot
stay without sanction of The Elders.”
As we follow Ramla through the jungle, I find
myself thinking about my mother. She had somehow assimilated into
the culture here, but she had entire rotations in which to do it;
we have only one day to gain the trust of these Elders and to find
my father’s Cube shard. Can it be done?
We do not walk for long before we reach a grassy
clearing. This must be the main village. Surveying the area, I see
small circular houses made of some type of clay-like material with
roofs made of thick layers of dried grass. People work outside
washing clothes or cooking, but most of them stop to look at us as
we pass. Some of them seem neutral to our arrival, but some of them
seem angry. I don’t really comprehend why, though, because it seems
that the tribe often accepts travelers who wish to settle here;
many of the residents appear to be from different races and
backgrounds. People must come from far and wide in the hopes of
settling in Amara.
We reach what I believe is the center of the
village. There is a large circular open area. On the outer edges of
this area are benches carved from wood and cushioned with grasses.
This must be where meetings are held. The center of the circle
holds a fire pit, on which a large animal of some kind is being
roasted. We walk around the fire pit, and I breathe in the aromas
of the cooking meat. I can see David and Foster eyeing it as we
pass; we have not had fresh food in days.
Finally, we stop at a building that sits at the
base of the circle. Presumably, we have reached The Elders. Ramla
pushes aside a curtain made of wooden beads and shells that click
together as she moves through them. She holds a hand up to us,
telling us to wait. We can see movement on the other side of the
curtain, and I hear Ramla speaking. “They have come,” she says, and
then continues to speak in a language that I do not understand.
They have come?
Ramla returns to the doorway where we wait,
draws the curtain aside and says, “You may enter.”
David leads the way through the beaded curtain,
and Foster brings up the rear. When we enter the structure, I
realize that it is comprised of one large circular room. The walls
of the room are decorated with bright murals and symbols that I do
not recognize. Among them, there is one that I do know: the
interlocking diamonds, the symbol of The Third Stone.
There is little furniture in this room, but
there are shelves filled with pots, bowls, and jars. Most of them
are the color of clay, but some of them are glass. On the far end
of the room, five individuals are seated. These must be The Elders.
There are three women and two men. The women wear flowing fabric
tied around their necks. The men wear wrapped skirts like the man
who accompanied Ramla in the jungle, but these men also have
another swath of fabric draped from their shoulder diagonally
across their chests and attached at their hips. All of The Elders
wear black, but some of them have their arms and faces adorned with
symbols painted in white. The women wear their hair pulled up onto
the top of their heads. All of their hair is beginning to grey, but
they do not seem to be extremely old. None of them are very far
past middle age.
Ramla gestures to three cushions that have been
placed about two body lengths from The Elders. We are to sit here.
Ramla kneels on a cushion halfway between us and them. One of the
females is the first to speak. Her speech is halting, as if she is
searching for the words. “We know only a little of your language.
It is difficult for us to understand. We prefer to speak in our
native tongue. Ramla will help us.”
We nod. Ramla is to be our interpreter.
One of the men begins to speak in the language
that we heard earlier.
Ramla turns to us. “Ramla told us that two would
come. You are three. Who is the third?”
Foster begins to speak, then falters, clears his
throat and begins again. “I am. My name is Foster.”
Ramla relays this to The Elders, who respond
through her. “You did not begin your journey with the other two.
You do not come with the same purpose.”
Foster shakes his head. “No. We only traveled
together.”
Ramla responds, “You may stay in Amara, if you
wish, but you must live by our laws. You must do your part to
support the people.”
“Yes. Please. I have nowhere else to go.”
Ramla nods. “You may go, then. Adam will teach
you about our ways and help you find your place among the people.”
Ramla gestures toward her male companion, who has been standing
near the door.
Foster gets up and follows him out. Ramla waits
a moment until she is sure that both Foster and Adam are gone. Then
she looks to The Elders, who continue our conversation. Ramla
speaks again. “You are the two that I saw. We know that you come
seeking something of ours. The Elders fear that you will bring
danger.”
I nod my head. I was afraid this might happen.
“Yes, there is something that we seek, but we are not bringing
danger. We wish only to protect—both your people and ours.”
Ramla relays this message to The Elders. She
does not have to tell us what they say; I can see it in their
faces. They do not believe us; our presence is a threat.
“They want you to go. Now. They say that they
cannot allow you to stay if you will put our people in danger. They
will not risk the people’s lives. We are peaceful. We have existed
for many years without conflict. But we will react aggressively if
we must.”
David shakes his head emphatically. “No, we have
not brought danger, but danger will come because they seek what we
seek. If they find it, then your people will be in danger. Everyone
will be.”
Ramla nods. “Yes, this is what I have seen. But
The Elders do not listen. They do not understand. They believe you
are the danger.”
David and I look at each other. We’ve come all
this way, and may leave empty-handed. David whispers, “We have to
find a way to show them that we’re telling the truth. We have to
find a way to make them believe us. If they don’t trust us, it
doesn’t matter how long we stay; we’ll never find it without their
help.” I know that he’s right. Amara spans many miles. Looking for
the Cube shard blind could take years. We might search forever and
never find it.
Suddenly I am struck by a thought. Slowly, I
pull my father’s watch from the waistband of my pants. I press the
button and the door swings open. What was it that they had called
her? “Adanech,” I say.
I pass the watch to Ramla, and she looks up at
me, startled. Her eyes fill with tears. “What do you know of
Adanech?”
I look back at her. She had known my mother more
than I had. She had loved her, I can see it in her face. I respond,
“When I knew her, her name was Tara. She was my mother.”
Ramla continues to look at me. Her eyes can no
longer hold her tears and they begin to overflow, streaming down
her cheeks. The Elders do not need her to interpret this. They pass
the watch to one another, and then look at me sharply. They know
the word
mother.
I speak directly to The Elders. “They are
coming. They will take what you have. We must find it first. It is
part of an artifact, a piece of broken stone. Please.”
Ramla looks at me as she relays my message to
The Elders; her face is shadowed. She seems uncertain.
The Elders begin speaking amongst themselves
quickly. They seem to conflict. Ramla watches them for a few
moments and then turns back to us. “The Elders do not agree.
Adanech was part of our tribe; though you will be respected as her
daughter, they still believe that you bring your people’s fight to
our land.”